uncle-in-law

English

Etymology

From uncle +‎ -in-law.

Noun

uncle-in-law (plural uncles-in-law)

1. (nonstandard) The husband of one's uncle or aunt (parent's sibling).
   • 1871, William Lindsay, Inquiry into the Christian law, as to the relationships which bar marriage‎^[1], page 86:

     Between uncle and aunt-in-law, or uncle's wife, you have a connection of affinity, and you have the same between aunt and uncle-in-law, or aunt's wife. [sic]

2. (nonstandard) The uncle of one's spouse.
   1. The uncle of one's husband.
      • 2012 August 11, anonymous, Vernon Dursley, Harry Potter Wiki

        Vernon would later become an uncle-in-law to Harry's wife, Ginny and a great-uncle to Harry and Ginny's children, James Sirius Potter, Albus Severus Potter and Lily Luna Potter.

   2. The uncle of one's wife.

Usage notes

Both meanings commonly used for uncle-in-law are used to define a distinction between someone who is an uncle by marriage (i.e., an in-law) and someone who is an uncle by blood (i.e., a brother of one of your parents). However both meanings are included within the standard definition of uncle, and for those who use this term, and a user may be trying to convey only one or both of the meanings given here. In general, unless there is a need for specificity, the use of uncle is to be preferred.

Hypernyms

• in-law

Related terms

• aunt-in-law
• nephew-in-law
• niece-in-law

Translations

husband of one's aunt

• French: oncle par alliance m
• German: Schwiegeronkel m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: тетак m

  Roman: tetak (sh) m

• Swedish: svärfarbror c (father's sister's husband), svärmorbror c (mother's sister's husband)
• Vietnamese: bác (vi), bác trai, bác dượng, chú (vi), chú dượng, dượng (vi)

husband of one's uncle

• French: oncle par alliance m
• German: Schwiegeronkel m
• Swedish: svärfarbror c (father's brother's husband), svärmorbror c (mother's brother's husband)

uncle of one's husband

• French: bel-oncle (fr) m
• German: Schwiegeronkel m
• Swedish: svärfarbror c (husband's father's brother), svärmorbror c (husband's mother's brother)

uncle of one's wife

• French: bel-oncle (fr) m
• German: Schwiegeronkel m
• Swedish: svärfarbror c (wife's father's brother), svärmorbror c (wife's mother's brother)